Wiliam Wellman Sr. (1 Viewer)

[lancer]

Just wrapped up watching a 1958 William Wellman directed film 'Lafayette Escadrille". It is not one of his better films which included such classics as 'Wings', 'Battleground', 'Beau Geste', 'The Ox-Bow Incident', and 'The Story of GI Joe'. It does have the advantage of being a film directed by an actual WW1 aviator, which Wellman was, as a member of the Lafayette Flying Corps, flying for France in N.87, the 'Black Cat Squadron'. He eventually had 3 confirmed kills and 5 probables. The best part of the film are the training sequences where actual Bleriots, a Camel, and at least 1 Nieuport 28 are seen flying. The film uses actual historical names of squadron members throughout, with the obvious exception of the fictional characters for the story purposes, and even stars William Wellman Jr. in the part of his director father as a squadron member. There are also other well known names in the show such as Clint Eastwood, David Jansen, Tom Laughlin, Paul Fix, and Will Hutchins. Sounds like a TV western reunion. The disappointment comes in the story itself, centered around Tab Hunter as the main (fictional) character. Includes a lame love story, desertion, and redemption. The only action in the form of a dogfight comes in the last 10 minutes of the film and lasts just a couple of minutes. No big shakes as a film, but interesting because of the actors and the Wellman back story. -- Al